Evangelicals through the Lens of Trump (January 2025)

This essay first appeared in the January 2025 issue of Choice (volume 62 | issue 4).

Posted on January 14, 2025 in Bibliographic Essays

Authors:

John Jaeger

Introduction:

Approximately 80 percent of white Evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, and as of February 2024 his popularity among them remains at around 70 percent. The fact that most Evangelicals would vote for a Republican candidate in these elections is not surprising, since they are generally politically conservative. What is surprising, however, is the enthusiasm that many of them expressed for Trump in 2016 and continue to express even now. Why is it that Evangelicals have such enthusiasm for a candidate who rarely attends church, shows moral deficiencies in both his words and his actions, has been convicted of thirty-four felony counts, and is, as of this writing, under indictment for fifty-four more?

While this question, and others related to it, may seem uncomplicated, answering it requires delving into several elements related to Evangelicalism, including its identity, history, and theology. It also requires examining subjects specifically related to Evangelicals and Trump: the elections and the riots of January 6, 2021; history, starting with the late 1970s and the Moral Majority; theology as interpreted through the lens of politics; culture and society, particularly regarding the culture wars; and religious nationalism.

Reflecting on the causes and implications of Evangelical support for Trump can serve as an entryway to a greater understanding of Evangelicals and Evangelicalism more generally. The paradoxical nature of the topic points to complexities found in the religious movement as a whole. This bibliographic essay explores these matters through an examination of approximately fifty books published over the past twenty years.

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About the Author:

John Jaeger is reference librarian at Johnson University and has been an academic librarian working at three faith-based universities over the past twenty-five years.

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